SEC comments

“There are moments when everything goes well, but don’t be frightened, it won’t last.”

— French author Jules Renard

THE STEEP DECLINE in crude oil and natural gas prices begin-ning in October 2014 generated a depressed price environmentthat continued throughout 2015. The weakened market conditionhas seriously impacted many exploration and production (E&P)companies and their employees, shareholders, lenders, customersand suppliers. It has also impacted the work of the Division ofCorporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC), the group responsible for reviewing public E&P companies’filings and monitoring their compliance with the oil and gasdisclosure rules of the SEC.

This article is the latest in a series of articles summarizing
the Division’s staff reviews of E&P companies’ SEC filings. The